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Greywater Use in Santa Barbara
This page is intended to help introduce one to Greywater. What is it and how to dose one utilize it. What is greywater? All water that has been used in the home, except water from toilets, is called greywater. Dish, shower, sink, and laundry water comprise up to 80% of residential "waste" water. This water may be reused in one's front and back yards for irrigation use or to even flush toilets. It is not wise to use dirty dish water because it contains food particles. These particles could harbor pathogens and attract animals that may damage ones greywater systems. Why should one use greywater? One could turn that 80% loss to an 80% gain! Greywater is a great un tapped resource. It keeps one from using treated drinking water for irrigation and flushing toilets, saving that water for future use. If one has a septic tank like many do in Monticito and Hope Ranch one will notice less strain on their septic tank saving them from pumping as often. Those in the community without septic tanks are putting less strain on the aging El Estero water treatment plant that is already outdated and may not get an overhaul for some time. By using your backyards own biological process for the treatment of the greywater, it can be more effective than pumping (which uses huge amounts of energy)to El Estero where the water ultimately has a deadline to be treated governed by the input to the plant. One’s garden has no timeline for treatment thus giving organisms unlimited time to treat water without the use of chemicals or added energy. Since this greywater is being treated on one’s premises it is released directly back to the earth allowing any remaining water not used by plants to recharge ground water. At El Estero this precious fresh water gets pumped into the ocean. With added water on the premises one could justify a fruit baring tree in their backyard where high water cost may have kept them form having one in the past creating food for themselves and their community. Where the State of California sides with Greywater In 2009 the state of California ammended California code of regulations, Title 24, Part 5, Chapter 16A, Part I also known as "Greywater Standards" to make it easier for people to implement greywater systems at their residences. Currently California has four tiers of systems. The first system the “Clothes Washer System and/or a Single Fixture System” is the only system that dose not require a permit from the city to construct. The second called the “Simple System” and is a system that exceeds the flow of the Laundry/single fixture and up to 250 gallons per day. The third system deals with more than 250 gallons per day, and the fourth is any system that treats the greywater before discharge. Of course all these systems one must use detergents that are safe (non-toxic) and biodegradable also known as Biocompatible cleaners. Here is a link to make your own garden friendly liquid laundry detergent Biocompatible cleaner: http://asonomagarden.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/garden-friendly-detergents-and-soap/ Some Commercially available soaps include Oasis, Ecos, Biopac liquid detergent. For the sink Oasis or Dr. Bronners is a fine choice. Its important that one researches their soap and makes sure it is safe for the environment if they plan to use it for a greywater system. ''Basic Greywater Guidelines'' Greywater is different from fresh water and requires different guidelines for it to be reused. 1. Don’t store greywater (more than 24 hours). If you store greywater the nutrients in it will start to break down, creating bad odors. 2. Minimize contact with greywater. Greywater could potentially contain a pathogen if an infected person's feces got into the water, so your system should be designed for the water to soak into the ground and not be available for people or animals to drink. 3. Infiltrate greywater into the ground, don’t allow it to pool up or run off (knowing how well water drains into your soil (or the soil percolation rate of your soil) will help with proper design. Pooling greywater can provide mosquito breeding grounds, as well as a place for human contact with greywater. 4. Keep your system as simple as possible, avoid pumps, avoid filters that need upkeep. Simple systems last longer, require less maintenance, require less energy and cost less money. 5. Install a 3-way valve for easy switching between the greywater system and the sewer/septic. 6. Match the amount of greywater your plants will receive with their irrigation needs. ''Source:greywateraction.org '''Systems' The simplest systems are essentially a bucket where one collects bath water and uses it to water plants or to flush their toilet. This type of greywater re-use has been utilized for generations and works fine but is very labor intensive. More advanced systems include special plumbing (like the illistration shown above) and irrigation systems that move greywater directly from the Washer to the garden commonly known as “Laundry to Landscape.” Other systems include cisterns that collect greywater to flush toilets. Some systems even funnel greywater to a man made wetland that filters the greywater before it is reintroduced to the environment. These can be seen in Earthships a new eco friendly approach to building homes. Currently it is not legal in California to do this, but depending on the ammount of greywater your residence produces it may not be necessary depending on percolation tests for each individual’s land a simple laundry/single fixture system should be fine. ''From the Washing Machine'' Washing machines are typically the easiest source of greywater to reuse because greywater can be diverted without cutting into existing plumbing. Each machine has an internal pump that automatically pumps out the water- you can use that to your advantage to pump the greywater directly to your plants. Source:greywateraction.org ''Laundry to Landscape'' This is a low-tech system that provides easy distribution of greywater to many plants. It is relatively low cost, and easy to install. The washing machine's internal pump slightly pressurizes the greywater, so this system can irrigate plants that are slightly uphill or further away along flat ground. The washer hose is connected to a 3-way valve that can divert greywater either to the sewer or the greywater system and piped outside with 1” rigid pipe, like PVC. This system requires 1" diameter tubing/pipe- larger diameter tubing will decrease the pressure and make it harder to spread out the water; and smaller diameter tubing will add too much strain on the pump. Outside 1" poly or HDPE (black plastic tubing) is connected to the rigid pipe and "barbed" Tee fittings split the flow and allow greywater to spread out and water many plants. ''Source:greywateraction.org ''Constructed Wetlands Wetland planter ecologically disposes greywater from an office with no sewer hookup.If you produce more greywater than you need for irrigation, a constructed wetland can be incorporated into your system to "ecologically dispose" of some of the greywater. Wetlands absorb nutrients and filter particles from greywater, enabling it to be stored or sent through a properly designed drip irrigation system (a sand filter and pump will also be needed- this costs more money). Greywater is also a good source of irrigation for beautiful, water loving wetland plants. If you live near a natural waterway, a wetland can protect the creek from nutrient pollution that untreated greywater would provide. If you live in an arid climate, or are trying to reduce your fresh water use, we don't recommend incorporating wetlands into greywater systems as they use up a lot of the water which could otherwise be used for irrigation. Source:greywateraction.org http://blip.tv/file/2428580 Laundry to Landscape Greywater video The laundry to landscape is not the complete video. For the complete video please go to: http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/laundry/ and purchase the DVD. One may also find a copy at the Santa Barbara Public Library or through /http://sbwater.org/. The DVD caters to someone looking to install one of these systems on their property or a professional looking to move into laundry greywater systems. The DVD is very technical and is more a manual than informational DVD about greywater. ''Why does greywater matter? ''Viewed narrowly, greywater systems don’t look that important. A low flow showerhead can save water with less effort. A septic system can treat greywater almost as well. But when you look at the whole picture—how everything connects—the keystone importance of greywater is revealed. *Ecological systems design is about context, and integration between systems. The entirety of integrated, ecological design can be reduced to one sentence: do what's appropriate for the context. '' ''*''Ecological systems—rainwater harvesting, runoff management, passive solar, composting toilets, edible landscaping—all of these are more context sensitive than their counterparts in conventional practice; that's most of what makes them more ecological. *''Greywater systems are more context sensitive than any other manmade ecological system, and more connected to more other systems. '' *''Get the greywater just right, and you’ve got the whole package right—and that matters.\ Source:www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/index.htm Possible Problems with Greywater Some issues with greywater is how easily one could pollute their gardens and ultimately the watershed if they misuse their greywater system. For instance the laundry to landscape system relies on a three way valve that splits the flow of water from the landscape to the sewer. If one were to forget about the valve and decides to bleach a load of white laundry, all of a sudden they have introduced bleach to their garden which is of course toxic. The same go’s for dirty diapers if one sends dirty diapers through to the landscape there could be pathogens that could cause harm. Currently in California it is illegal to use your graywater system in either of these ways but ultimately it is a human error issue. Also with the cistern systems that re-use the greywater for flushing toilets there has to be a pump involved to get greywater to the toilet basin, this introduces another energy consuming device so we may just be trading one form of conservation at the expense of another. Safety of greywater systems has always been a concern but time and time again has show that if used correctly pathogens are kept at a minimum. One other issue are the plants one waters with the greywater, not all plants are suitable to be watered with greywater, root vegetables for instance with the intention to be eaten should not be grown with greywater. The third and final issue with greywater systems in existing buildings is the cost of a system vs. benefit. Now with the advent of high efficient washing machines one may not be able to justify a laundry to landscape system for a simple eight gallons a wash, yet those eight gallons still could be utilized in the garden saving eight gallons from the hose. Greywater also has inherent issues that may turn off the average homeowner from adopting a greywater system. From the simple bucket filled from the bath or saved shower water, one might view it too labor intensive than just pulling the drain plug. One issue that plague homeowners from systems like the laundry to landscape is the cost and the idea of drilling through a wall in their house to deliver water to the garden. If that turns off a home owner, then a full blown plumbing renovation to install duel plumbing would be out of the question. Plus it is a challenge for a homeowner to take these great lengths without already implementing less invasive conservation techniques that are much easier to do in one evening. These techniques include switching to low flow toilets, low flow shower heads/fixtures, drought tolerant or climate specific landscaping, and knowing how to read your water meter to identify leaks; but if these areas have been already addressed a greywater system would be the next step foreword. In my opinion it is the paradigm shift required to justify any of these solutions to conserving water that may be the largest hurdle for some. The Future of Greywater The future of greywater should be a bright one. With more knowledge of greywater use there will be a resurgence of people using their greywater and thus more water conservation. The future of greywater also depends on the legislature to loosen permitting for larger greywater systems. Currently it is too challenging to get permission for larger systems (in existing buildings) in California. This is a conundrum since without making it easier to implement these systems advancements and research of these systems will come at a slow pace. Easing up on greywater from a legislature standpoint will facilitate newer more efficient systems that at this point unfortunately one can only speculate about. But if all new construction being built was planned to be duel plumbed to accommodate greywater re-use in toilets and controllable direct lines to the landscaping then homeowners will inherently be given an option to conserve. This would allow us to raise a new generation that will grow up using these new techniques as the norm. In the future we may also see a commercial sink toilet combo kit that is far less radical than existing duel plumbed cistern systems. These systems would live under your sink and have a small pump that self regulates the toilet basin with greywater eliminating the need for duel plumbed lines and a costly renovation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greywater http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/index.htm http://greywateraction.org/greywater-recycling http://www.earthship.org/ http://www.letsgogreen.com/greywater-recycling.html http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/laundry/